


one year

by toflowerknights



Category: All For the Game - Nora Sakavic
Genre: M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-08-07
Updated: 2016-08-07
Packaged: 2018-08-07 05:04:21
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,794
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/7701865
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/toflowerknights/pseuds/toflowerknights
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>It was waiting on Aaron’s bed when he got back from practice one night. A small, light green, square package with a dark green ribbon tied around it in a bow.</p>
            </blockquote>





	one year

**Author's Note:**

> ya know, i would stop writing aaron being a blind idiot if it wasn't so canon

It was waiting on Aaron’s bed when he got back from practice one night. A small, light green, square package with a dark green ribbon tied around it in a bow. Aaron approached it slowly and picked it up with the same caution he would a bomb. It didn’t go off as he did, so that was probably a good thing.

He quickly looked over his shoulder to make sure that Nicky or Andrew wasn’t in his room and pulled at the satin to open the box. Then he carefully grabbed the lid and took a peek inside.

It was a ring. A sleek, simple, and non-descriptive ring. Aaron stared at it as if it would somehow answer all his questions.

He took it out of the box, ran his thumb over it to map out the smooth surface and saw something etched into the inside. When he tilted it so that it caught the light he saw that it was a date. Set exactly one year earlier. Aaron raked his brain to figure what had happened one year before and why someone would feel the need to give him a gift for it. For a second he thought they might have put the gift on the wrong bed and meant to leave it for Matt instead, but quickly dismissed it. This was for him.

The more he thought about it, the more certain he was of who had left him the gift as well.

A cough behind him made him turn around and in the doorway Matt was watching him

”Do you like it?” he asked, confirming Aaron’s suspicions.

”Isn’t it a bit early to talk about marriage?” he replied instead of answering the question. Matt rolled his eyes and walked into the bedroom. He pushed Aaron up against the beds without touching him, Aaron just followed his movements. Aaron had to tilt his head back to look at him. He got slightly weak in the knees at the fond look on Matt’s face, which might’ve been why he allowed Matt to kiss him with the door open.

”Do you?” Matt mumbled against his lips. ”Like it.”

Aaron, slightly out of breath, nodded. ”Why did you give it to me?”

”It’s been a year since we.. you know. Made it official. Official for us, at least,” he hurried to add.

”Oh,” was all Aaron said. Because he had no idea what else he could say. Because Matt was wearing a goofy smile and a hopeful look and Aaron hadn’t known they’d been together for a year. ”I didn’t… I never…”

Matt’s smile faded as he looked at Aaron, tryin to figure out why he was acting off. Never in his life had Aaron wanted to be someone else more than he had in this moment. His lips were burning from where Matt had kissed him and the conflicted look in Aaron’s eyes told Matt everything he needed to know.

”You didn’t remember.”

It was said softly, but it twisted itself into Aaron’s spine like a knife.

He reached out for Matt to keep him close. ”Matt-”

But Matt was already backing away and Aaron was left standing against the beds, hand stretched out. Matt was scratching his neck with an embarrassed look on his face. He was looking everywhere except for at Aaron. ”Well, this is awkward,” he said and Aaron felt his cheeks heat up.

”Matt,” he said again but Matt shook his head and effectively shut him up.

”I feel so stupid,” Matt said quietly and Aaron shook his head quickly, desperate to try and explain _something_ to Matt that would make this all okay. But Aaron had never actually been the person to explain himself and found that he didn’t know what to say.

Instead they stood in their dorm room, in dead silence and it wasn’t until they heard Allison yell in the corridor that Matt left.

 

Matt didn’t come back to their room that night and Aaron didn’t sleep.

 

Based on bad timing and Aaron’s ironically worse luck his and Matt’s… _fight_ happened on a Friday, which meant that there was nothing forcing them to spend time together. Which, in turn, meant that Aaron didn’t see Matt for the entire weekend.

First, because Andrew dragged all of them to Columbia on Saturday where Aaron got so black out drunk they could’ve told him his name was Simone and he would’ve believed them.

Second, Matt never came back to their room once before Aaron left on Saturday, and it wasn’t as if Aaron could walk up to Dan and _ask_ if she’d seen him. If Aaron was being completely honest with himself, he didn’t think he deserved to know.

That’s also why he didn’t text, or call, Matt once that weekend. Instead he downed shot after shot until he couldn’t walk and didn’t care about the looks the gang was giving him. They knew better than to ask. Even though Neil opened his mouth on more than one occasion he quickly shut it again. Aaron had never been more pleased with Neil’s dislike of him. It didn’t matter if Neil thought something was wrong. He'd be quiet out of pure stubbornness alone.

They spent all of Sunday recovering in the apartment and Aaron spent all his time time not looking at his phone. Every time it buzzed his fingers twitched even though he knew it probably was Nicky sending him dumb snapchats from the other room. Stupidly enough he was still disappointed when he was proven right.

He didn’t hear from Matt once.

 

Their room was empty when they got back to the tower and Aaron didn’t know what to do. He’d never been in a situation like this before. He walked out into the hallway and looked at the girls room, trying his hardest to hear if Matt was inside.

As he stood in the hallway, feeling like an idiot Renée stepped out of the elevators and with a polite, ”Hello Aaron,” she opened the door to her and the girls room. While the door was still open he took a few steps forward and after a few seconds he heard Matt’s laugh. The next thing he knew he was back in their room.

His heart was pounding in his chest and he spent a good five minutes pacing the bedroom. It felt as if electric charges had been run through his body and he couldn’t settle down. In his effort to give him space he’d forgotten what Matt’s laugh sounded like, and how it made every inch of him vibrate. Aaron shook his head to try and clear it, because this was getting fucked up in a whole new way.

He decided that the only thing he had to do was talk to Matt alone and try and make this right. He kept pacing the floor, but Matt never showed. By midnight he realised that Matt probably wouldn’t be back this night either.

In the end he curled up on Matt’s bed and kept his eyes on the door until he, eventually, fell asleep.

 

Monday morning brought rain and, to Aaron’s dismay, classes that would take him away from the dorm. Focusing was next to impossible and Aaron spent the first class doodling in the corner of his notepad and the second looking out the window. He spent the last quarter coming up with a game plan that in the end only looked like _1, find Matt_ and  _2, do something._ It wasn't his best, but to be fair he'd been pressed for time. He'd wing it once he found Matt.

He didn’t have to wait long.

At lunch he went back to the tower to get some more books, and there he was. Looking just as good as he had the last time he’d seen him.

Matt was sitting outside of the tower, too tall for the low concrete encasing the grass surounding the house. It took Aaron five steps to reach him and for a while all that was happening was Aaron standing in front of Matt, trying to think of something to say.

People walked past them, completely unaware of Aaron’s inner debate with himself.

”Just say what you came here to say, man.”

Aaron’s eyes immediately focused on Matt’s, who was staring back at him, eyes blank and calm. Every sarcastic comment that rested on the tip on his tongue was pushed back. It wasn’t going to help him in the long run. For some reason the calmness made Aaron even more conflicted of what he wanted to say and how he should say it. Pretending you didn’t give a fuck didn’t get you very far, apparently.

”I’m sorry,” he said and scratched his foot against the pavement. ”I should’ve remembered.”

Matt shrugged. ”You didn’t.”

It shouldn’t have felt like a slap. But it did.

”I should’ve,” Aaron insisted. ” _You_ did. I’m sorry you were the only one.”

”Well, we obviously had very different ideas about what was going on,” Matt replied and Aaron could hear how bitter he sounded.

He took a step closer, so that he was standing between Matt’s legs. His knee knocked against one of Matt’s and that made Matt look up from the ground and let his gaze meet Aaron’s.

”I don’t want to break up.”

It was painfully easy to admit.

After the words left his mouth it was as if a huge weight had been lifted from his chest It was undeniable, the way he felt about Matt. He might not be ready to tell the world yet, but he knew that he’d have to show Matt at least. He didn’t know how, but there had to be a way. Helplessly, he looked at Matt. ”Please, don’t break up with me.”

They didn’t speak for what felt like minutes. Simply stayed in the position, Matt sitting down, Aaron standing between his legs. People walked past them, but they didn’t matter one bit. Right now all that mattered was what would happen next. What Matt would do.

It seemed like an eternity before something happened.

Matt reached out and tugged absent-mindedly at the hem of his hoodie. It felt like forgiveness. And Aaron started to breathe again.

Without hesitating he reached out and grabbed Matt's hand, keeping it in place. The ring was cool against his skin and stood in stark contrast to Matt's. He felt so stupid for having been so blind before. Every time Matt touched him it was as if he was being lit with fireworks. He felt electric.

He sat down next to Matt, close enough that their bodies were touching, and looked out over the almost empty parking lot.

”One year,” he said. He sounded almost surprised.

Matt nodded. ”And three days.”


End file.
